What do librarians do? THIS!

I can't wait 'till I get to do this stuff for a living! Remember, you can't do this with an eBook...

http://jmnz.us/14czhCJ

Collection Management Basics: Book Review

The Book

Barnes & Noble

Collection Management Basics (Sixth Edition)
G. Edward Evans
Margaret Zarnosky Saponaro

The Review

For the most part, the readings in this text were assigned in chronological order, so my professor did not feel that the issues present in the Gregory text were founded in this book. Still, this text was relegated as a supplement to our readings from the other textbook, which was the primary text for the class.

The Collection Management Basics has the look and feel of a traditional textbook. It also reads like one, making for dense chapters that approach 30 pages each. As such, this textbook was very informative but not the most pleasant reading material.

The Citation

Evans, G. E., Saponaro, M. Z. Collection management basics. 6th ed. Denver, Colorado: Libraries Unlimited.

Collection Development and Management: Book Review

The Book

Collection Development and Management for 21st Century Library Collections: An introduction
Vicki L. Gregory

The Review

My professor decided to begin the course with chapters 4 and 5 of this text before going back to chapters 1-3. Her rationale was that we would need to have some basic knowledge of the Selection (4) and Acquisitions (5) process before assessing the needs of users (2). This makes a great deal of sense. Most textbooks begin by defining crucial terms and then build on the basic concepts, this text assumes that the reader brings a fairly high level of experience with Collection Management (which includes selection) and Acquisitions with them. While I did have a vague sense of what it was, I have a much more solid knowledge of the process now. The difference between collection management and acquisition in the library setting is as follows:

Collection Management

The process of selecting materials the library should hold.

Acquisition

The physical process involved in actually obtaining the selected materials.

Other than that one issue with the content order, this book was the main text for the course LIS 6511: Collection Development and Maintenance. It was a smooth read and very well supported with documented resources. Chapters hover around 20 pages in length, so they were not too long yet they presented substantial information. This was overall an excellent textbook.

Citation

Gregory, V. L. Collection development and management for 21st century library collections: An introduction. New York: Neal-Schuman.

Blimey! Are we going metric?

Think Metric! By Franklin M. Branley [c1972]

Weeding

USF mug, FIU sweater. (Photo credit: CMJimenez)

Every librarian should have some experience with the term. As a library student, I just turned in an assignment where I was to de-select 10% of a library's collection and then spend $3,000 on new materials for the collection (I had to drive from Miami to Tampa for a class in order to turn it in. See image to the right for proof of caffeine). I must say, it was fun to do traditional librarian duties in a real-world setting.

The Metric System is Coming!

We have all heard about some crazy books. This blog is no Awful Library Books, but this one has got to be the worst that I found in the collection. It warns that the metric system is about to invade the United States (kinda like the way the British Invasion influenced our music) and we should get used to measuring everything by the metric system.

Is the Metric System Superior?

Now, I'm not writing this to answer any question about the superiority of the metric system, this is a library blog after all. A better question for my purposes is: This book predicted that the metric system is taking over, has it?

Clearly, we still measure distance in miles and size in inches and feet. We are forty years removed from the publication of this title (making it older than I have been on this planet--yes, I will enjoy saying it every time I get the chance to) and we still have not seen the metric invasion.

Will we see it sometime in the future? Perhaps. However, I do not feel that the United States is on the verge of conversion. Therefore, we do not need to hold this outdated title in the collection.

Do you agree with my decision, or do you think the piece should have stayed? Let me know in the comments section!

Mugged for my Lunch

A Little Gardening

This weekend's class meeting has been riveting. We've been talking about weeding collections. Can I get a woot for weeding? Can I get a woot for user complaints about throwing away useless materials?

I thought so. The drama is not really what happens in class--it's what happens outside of the classroom that counts.

For instance, I wrote my paper last week. It was pretty stressful, I must say. Further, I wasn't able to print out my assignment before leaving Miami at 9.30 PM. I arrived in Tampa at about 2.30 AM and could not, for the life of me, figure out how to print my paper out. So my lovely wife and I went on a scavenger hunt for a printing facility that might be open at 3 in the morning. We ended up traveling 20 minutes away to downtown so I could print my assignment. Ya. Do the math. I got to bed at 4 AM. Fun. Glamorous. Oh ya!

Welcome to the Jungle

Want more stories? How 'bout getting mugged by a punk squirrel with an attitude problem? I was sitting, minding my own business, when this squirrel barrels into my lunch bag and demands I hand over my peanut butter and wheat bread sandwich. You'll be happy to hear that I fought him off successfully.

Don't worry. I left a peace offering of sammich crust behind when I finished.

Muggles Afoot

Now my fellow future librarians are discussing the intricacies of Harry Potter. Important things like allegiances to Slitherin or Griffindor, whether Huffinclaw or Ravenpuff is cooler and how Hagrid's parents pro created (the consensus is that a spell had to be involved).

Future Library and Information Science graduate studies beware: the drama is HOT.

Greener on Top of Us

This was an interesting quote from today's class meeting. It was in reference to libraries being a battle ground for Amazon & Publishers to duke it out over eBooks. I found it witty & sadly true.